Apple's "Back To The Mac" Event

October 20th Apple is going to discuss Mac OS X 10.7 which will apparently be called Lion.

See FC: Apple Teases OS X Lion in "Back to the Mac" Event, But What'll It Be Like?

Other predictions include a new MacBook Air which may have a very small solid state drive.

I've shied away from the rumor sites in order to not build up unreasonable expectations, but some of my hopes include...

For OS X:
-an iTunes replacement
-a unified messaging inbox, calendar, and contacts (meaning integrate social media contacts and desktop contacts into one location)
-a revamping of MobileMe to include invisibile back-ups and media libraries (1Tb iDisk)
-turning OS X into a prediction, recommendation, and mind mapping engine. Build upon the old technologies of Sherlock, Quick Look, and Apple Data Detectors to build and link hidden relationships in file contents both locally and in the cloud. Software that shows you connections that you did not notice before - software that has an application to creative and business types.

Hardware:
-3G will become standard just like WiFI and USB

Another odd prediction of mine:
- Apple will use some of its $81 billion to purchase Netflix which has a market capitalization under $8 billion. The idea that has been floated of Apple buying Facebook is ridiculous.

Open questions:
-what is Apple going to do with its $51 billion in cash?
-What will happen to the LaLa purchase?
-What is the purpose of the data center in North Carolina?